THE 40-or-so remaining members of Mt Pleasant’s senior citizens’ club have fallen victim to rampaging riverfront real estate prices, and are being turfed from their home of nearly 50 years.
President Jean Cousins, 96, says the centre’s landlord, Melville city council, has told the group to vacate its premises by March 31. She estimates the block—which fronts both The Esplanade and Kishorn Road—to be worth around $60 million.
Jean Cousins
The eviction comes as no surprise: the members had earlier been told to expect to be gone by June and they understand the site’s value.
It’s the heartless handling of their departure that’s hard to take: “The CEO, Shayne Silcox, I don’t think he’s ever set foot in the building,” Ms Cousins tells the Herald, and the last she saw of the mayor or any councillors was at someone’s 100th birthday some years ago. Ms Cousins says the club is being shunted off to a room at an Applecross church.
The view from the club
“We’ve been told we can’t take anything because they have no room for storage,” she sighs, lamenting the council’s refusal to provide even a small storage facility. So all the billiard tables, chairs, bowling balls…everything collected over nearly half-a-century is either being handed to other clubs or going to the Salvos.
“We can’t even take our comfortable padded chairs—we have to sit on those plastic chairs now.”
by BRIAN MITCHELL
This is EXACTLY why the people of Canning are concerned – we have been trying to ensure our seniors are taken care of with the expert care they current have. My goodness our way of life is being uprooted from under our noses. The bottom seems to have fallen out of the mining boom and many of those who have come over here to W.A. – outbidding our young people for homes, filling our schools and hospitals will all nick off back from where they came from. But it is ok we will still build “affordable housing” in every nook and cranny the developers want to – to hell with ruining people’s lifestyle – the government can abolish local councils without the public having a fair say or vote and they call this democracy!!!!